Dave Apel, who started in the perfumery business in 1980, says Philyra learned as any perfumer would. “It essentially learned the combinations of materials that are aesthetically pleasing, if you will — things that have been traditionally seen to work together, a kind of balance of how the materials are harmonious or not, and where there is signature within a fragrance,” he says.

— The artificial intelligence system Philyra, created as a collaboration between IBM and fragrance company Symrise, will have its first perfumes on the market next year. Read more at The Scent of an AI at Datanami. (Also: Using AI to Create New Fragrances at IBM and Breaking new fragrance ground with artificial intelligence (AI): IBM Research and Symrise are working together at Symrise.)